For scientists, it’s called Comet 2014 UN271/(Bernardinelli-Bernstein).
But to ordinary people, it’s a gargantuan megacomet that spans a jaw-dropping 137 kilometers wide, officially making it the largest comet ever measured.
Think of a straight from Sydney to Newcastle, and that’s about the staggering width of Bernardinelli-Bernstein.
The first images of Bernardinelli-Bernstein were recorded in 2014, when it was spotted 4.59 billion kilometers from Earth, roughly the same distance as the planet Neptune.
Initially, the comet was estimated to be between 100 and 370 kilometers wide.
Now these measures have been strengthened.
“It is the largest Oort cloud comet ever discovered.”
The news means Bernardinelli-Bernstein knocked Hale-Bopp, around 70 kilometers wide, from first place.
The “Tree trunk” crater broke on Mars
Researchers believe it holds clues to our sun’s long-lost twin and is part of the binary system theory.
Scientists believe the Oort Cloud may have played an important role in Earth’s history, including causing the extinction of the dinosaurs.
It also contains clues to the mysterious Planet Nine which astronomers have yet to prove exists.
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